How Life Shouldn't Be
by Lizzielollipop186
Summary: Oz finds Willow in the woods, naked, her innocence is missing. His heart aches for her as she tries to deal with the impossible. I own nothing. xX:Willow and Oz:Xx Warning: Rated M for Graphic Rape.
1. Drops of Innocence

He smelled her fear. That's what led him in the right direction. As he neared the woods where her stench came from, he began to hear sobbing. And smell blood…..

It took him ten minutes of running through this good sized forest, with each step he quickened his pace, hearing her sobs get louder. The smell of rear and blood mixed with the forest floor. The air was moist. It was so thick, he knew something had happened. Something terrible. Something terrible had happened to his Willow.

Finally, as he felt the awful stench now right upon him, in the distance, he saw a figure on the ground. He prayed it wouldn't be Willow, because as he slowly approached, he realized that she was naked. Her clothes ripped and sprawled around her, as if her quivering body were a shrine of triumph. Oz caught his breath when he saw the red hair.

As he came to realize this was indeed Willow, his world collapsed in on him. He ran to her now. She heard the approaching footsteps and rolled up into a fetal position as best as she could. She was kind of restricted by pain.

He knelt down next to once he finally reached her.

"Willow!" he cried quietly to show her it was him.

She was still crying as her head perked up in relief and humiliation. She couldn't meet his eyes, but when she did glance at him, she felt warmer somehow. Like this hadn't just happened to her. She said nothing, but when he hesitantly reached for her, she, as best she could, grabbed him close to her. He held her as she sobbed into his shirt, "Shh"-ing every now and then. Letting the tears fall freely from his eyes.

After a while, she seemed to have either fallen asleep or fallen unconscious, because she hadn't cried for a while. Though when he moved her a bit, he concluded that she was unconscious seeing as she didn't wake up.

Knowing they needed to get out of there, he acted as quickly as he could. He took off his jacket and gently wrapped it around her naked body. He slowly lifted her off the ground. The smell of blood was thick now. He carried her out of the forest, still deciding what to do. Should he call the police? Or go straight to Buffy? As he thought about it, he figured Buffy would be the one to go to. She needed to know about this as soon as possible.

He reached the van, thanking God no one else was around. And thanking God she was now safe in his arms.

She stirred a little bit as he gingerly laid her in the back. The smell of blood was less now, but he knew it was still on her legs. The final drops of the innocence stolen from her.


	2. Couldn't Stop It

She whimpered a bit here and there. With each small cry he would slow down a little bit, in fear of hitting a bump and hurting her more. He had no idea she was dreaming about what had just happened.

(Warning: graphic rape)

_ She followed him, still demanding answers. Mostly for the question "How dare you?" He didn't seem to want to put up with her, but Willow was tired of being stepped on. Buffy was her best friend and darn it, it was time for Willow to step up to defend her._

_ Willow knew Parker didn't care for anybody but himself, but she decided it was worth the argument. Ahead was a forest. "Ha!" she thought, "Where's he gonna go now? He can't go anywhere. He's stuck!" Her moment of triumph died away deep inside her as he walked right on into the woods. But, Willow was determined to not let him get away._

_ She was a little uneasy about entering these seemingly inescapable woods by herself and a bigger, and definitely stronger man, but she kept on walking and yelling after him._

_ Way into the forest, he finally stopped. He had made up his mind about how to get her to shut up and realize she should have just left him alone. Willow was still ranting on behind him when he turned sharply to stare at her._

_ She stopped talking. She stopped breathing. She stopped all movement of any body part. That look in his face was what scared little girls into their closets at night. Willow didn't have a closet to run to though. She was trapped in the confined area with a man who doesn't have a conscience. He could hurt anyone and not give a damn when they cried and begged. And she knew that._

_ It all happened in a short second. Before Willow could react, Parker had ran to her and forced her down. Willow of course screamed, kicked, punched, and cried but it was no use. Though, already tired of her voice, Parker was annoyed._

_ He slapped his hand over her mouth._

_ "No, no." he said angrily, yet eagerness, "There'll be none of that now." He removed his hand and as soon as he did, she screamed again. He sighed, almost sounding disappointed in her. He fumbled around in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small, yet threatening pocket knife. The sharp sound of it clicking upwards made Willow shut her mouth and stop screaming. Parker couldn't help but smirk._

_ Keeping the knife in his reach and out of hers, he set it down as Willow's defense mechanisms became less and less. She stopped kicking and punching, but she did tremble and thrash a bit. _

_ He ripped her button-down shirt open, exposing her bra. Just to frighten her even more, he licked his lips and slowly licked in between her breasts. She knew he would hurt her if she tried to stop him, so she just closed her eyes and tried not to think about it._

_ When she heard the snapping, yet again of the knife, her eyes snapped open. Parker was holding it above her chest. She began to cry as he slowly brought it down to the thin cloth between him and her soft skin. He cut straight through her bra and her breasts were shown to him. She began to sob even more. He lightly played with them. First with his hands, and then the knife. When the cold metal touched her nipple she gasped, but quickly snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes once more._

_ He tore his shirt of, set the knife down, and reached for her wrists. He pinned them above her head, holding them there as he traced his tongue down the chest and stomach. He laughed when she whimpered out of humiliation. Her tears ran freely._

_ He let her hands go and she immediately used her arms to cover up her bare chest. Parker took the knife again and popped the button of her jeans open. He pulled them off and all that was left of poor young Willow's clothing were her panties, but by the point he was so eager and ready that he didn't waste time with the knife. He just ripped them off, exposing all of her to him. _

_ Willow couldn't take this anymore. She rolled onto her stomach and tried to get up. She knew she wouldn't make it. And she was proved right when he grabbed her again and flipped her back over. _

_ She sobbed and sobbed as he forced her shoulders down._

_ "I was gonna take this easy on you, girly. But seeing as that's not the way you want to play so be it." He said, unbuttoning his pants. Willow began to sob harder and beg. But mostly, she thought about Oz. How she wished he could be there right now, to save her, to tell her he loved her. But he never came._

_ Willow screamed "No!" as he spread her legs. She couldn't bare to look, but she could feel him put his member at her opening. She braced herself for quick impact, but instead came something far more torturous._

_ Slowly, too slowly, Parker began to push himself in her. Willow screamed louder than she had. He groaned as he finally got himself through. Then he began to speed up. Willow continued to scream and cry as he started going harder and faster. She could feel the trickle of blood beginning to emanate from her opening. _

_ After the most painful six minutes of her life, Willow began to feel him slow down and go limp. They both panted hard as he pulled himself out of her. He stood up, Willow stayed on the ground, soil and leaves covered her back. She didn't move while he buttoned his pants and pulled his shirt back on._

_ "You know," his voice startled her, "I'd hate for anything bad to happen to your precious Oz." He began, leaning down to pick up his knife, putting it in his pocket as he continued talking, "But if you tell anyone it was me who did this, well his death will be on your hands then." Willow shook with fear. As he left, leaves cracked beneath his shoes._

The nightmare repeated itself over and over. And, like when it was actually happening, she couldn't do a thing to stop it.


	3. Taking His Willow

Oz called Buffy's dorm from a payphone in the front of the building.

"Hello?" He was so relieved to hear Buffy's voice.

"Buffy, it's Oz." he began quickly, almost frantically, "I need you to get Willow some clothes and come to the van. I'm right out here."

"On my way." The line went dead. Buffy knew what to do when something sounded panicky. The basic rules were: Don't ask questions and Be as fast as possible.

Oz ran back to Willow to find she was still unmoving in the back. He climbed in and held her, waiting for Buffy.

Buffy _was _fast. She pounded on the back of the van, not waiting for a reply. She climbed in too. That was when she really realized what was going on.

Buffy stared at her best friend. She was unclothed, and you didn't have to be a werewolf to smell the blood. She fell against the now closed van door. Oz snatched the clothes out of her hands.

Oz was happy she brought the easiest things to slide onto someone who couldn't move (Pajama pants and a tank top), but annoyed in every sense that Buffy's 'hero switch' had been turned off. He understood that Willow was very important to her, but he needed her to get them to a hospital.

"Buffy." Oz had tried to pull her out of her empathetic trance. Buffy looked up at him. "Do you think you could drive us to a hospital?" Oz didn't have time to think about what he had just said, although the thought had skimmed the surface that Buffy really _wasn't _the best driver.

Without a word, Buffy nodded and climbed into the front seat. Oz heard and felt the engine start. He gently gripped Willow tighter as he braced for impact. He had this terrible feeling the Buffy was going hit something when she back up. Instead, nice and slow, the van moved backwards. Buffy was as surprised as Oz when she switched gears and moved forward with another swift, smooth movement. Either way, they were both happy she managed to keep her head while she drove.

They drove, as expected in silence. The only sounds heard were from Willow, gentle coughing and crying, while Oz "shh"ed her.

They arrived at the hospital and Buffy's 'hero switch' seemed to be working again. Oz prepared Willow for holding. He had a good grip on her when Buffy through the back doors open. He jumped down and ran with Buffy through the hospital doors.

"We need some help! Now!" Buffy immediately yelled when they burst through the doors.

"Okay, okay." A short nurse scurried over to Oz who was still holding Willow. She didn't ask questions as she examined her. She spoke into a walkie talkie hooked to her jacket _("We need a stretcher and immediate assistance.")_

Moments later, three doctors came around the corner pulling a bed on wheels. It frightened Oz a bit when he saw the many tubes the bed came equipped with.

He felt torn as he laid Willow gently down. It was when they began wheeling her away when she woke up.

"Oz?" She said in a small voice. Then her frightened voice began to scream. "Oz? Oz? Oz!" He heard her cry for him as they continued to roll her away. Buffy held him back as he tried to run after her.

His heart broke when the doors shut behind the doctors who were taking away his Willow.


	4. The Doctor's Face

"I should go call everyone." Buffy said after twenty minutes of silence in the waiting room. Oz just nodded at her, watching her get up. No sooner had she reached a payphone, had a doctor walked up to Oz. He straightened his posture while the doctor approached.

"You brought…" he began, checking his file, "ah, Willow Rosenburg?" He stared at Oz.

"Yes. Is she gonna be okay?" Oz knew he sounded anxious, but the doctor knew it was with good reason.

"She will with time. Can you tell me what happened?" The doctor asked this question with hesitance. He knew she had been raped, but he still needed to ask. But he had dealt with rape victims before, and sometimes, their loved ones were harder to talk to than they were. He could see in Oz's eyes that this very well could be one of those times.

It struck Oz at that moment. He _didn't_ know what happened. He then realized that whoever had done this to his Willow was still out there. He wouldn't let them hurt her again. He would make sure of that.

When Oz didn't answer, the doctor simply nodded his head and began to walk away. Oz stopped him.

"Wait. When can we see her?" He asked, all the while hoping he'd say "Now".

"We need to run a few more tests, but soon." He said, nodding and smiling a little bit, hoping to put Oz in a somewhat better place. If that was possible.

Oz turned warily and sat back down next to Buffy who had returned.

"Giles and Xander are on their way." She quietly informed him.

Silence again. Not an awkward silence, though. It was more for them both to think. All Oz could think about though 'was who could do this to her?'

Ten minutes later, Xander ran through the hospital doors, Giles was behind him. They both turned their heads a couple in search of two familiar faces. Xander spotted them first. They ran towards Oz and Buffy and Oz prepared to answer questions. He knew they'd have them.

Xander looked outraged. "What happened?" He asked angrily, his voice directed at Oz.

_Here we go._ Oz stood up. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Xander." He couldn't give much more of an answer.

"Well, why the _hell_ is Willow in a hospital room?" He began to yell, directing attention.

"Xander!" Buffy grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, trying to tell him what she knew. And trying to save Oz from any more pain.

Oz was left with Giles, who seemed a bit distance. Oz felt so relieved that he wouldn't ask questions. He wasn't sure how much he would be able to talk about before he would lose it on the emotion shield. And he couldn't do that now. Willow needed him. She needed someone to be strong. As Oz glanced over at Xander, who was now pacing as Buffy spoke, he knew he may be the only one who could be strong enough for her.

After Xander apologized to Oz, silence filled the room again. Thoughtful silence. The minutes were agonizing. With each one that passed, Oz felt as though another nerve caught fire.

After a while, no one knew how long, footsteps interrupted their silence. Oz felt his heart stop when he recognized the doctor's face.


	5. Never Again

The doctor told them that due to the traumatic events she had been through already, he'd rather only one visitor go in for the night. It was a silent agreement that they send Oz in.

Before he even opened the door, he could hear her sniffling softly. _Be strong. For Willow. _He reminded himself. He took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He wanted to collapse. He saw his happy Willow, defeated and bedridden. She was still crying and staring at the wall nest to her.

He swallowed. "Willow?" He asked, almost in a whisper. Her steady cries stopped briefly. She glanced at him, then turned her head quickly. Oz was hurt, and his face showed it. He walked over and sat down in a chair at the foot of her bed.

"I'm s-sorry." Willow's sobbing voice filled the air. Oz looked up. Why was she sorry? What did she do? Nothing. This wasn't in any way at all her fault.

"Sorry?" Oz asked, staring at her. She turned and faced him head on. What she said broke Oz's heart in every way.

"I'm dirty now." She said, her voicing breaking. Oz threw himself forward and held her again. She clutched onto him and sobbed. He knew he was supposed to be strong, but he couldn't. He cried. They cried together. He cried for Willow. She cried for the mistake she made that ruined everything.

After an hour, Oz was back in his chair as a nurse came to check on her.

"Excuse me, young man?" Oz hadn't even noticed the nurse turned to him. "Visiting hours are almost over."

Oz glanced at Willow, whose face showed a slight flicker of fear at the sound of this.

He couldn't leave her.

"Can I stay?" He asked, pleading in his voice and eyes. The nurse looked at him, then back Willow.

She sighed and just nodded, leaving the room with a feeling of remorse. Could this be sympathy? Either way, she walked away feeling something.

Oz turned back to Willow. She had sunk back into her pillow, staring at the wall again. He knew if he didn't ask her now, he might not get another chance to do it alone with her.

He stood up and sat in the bed next to her. She silently leaned against him. He held her again. Preparing to ask, risking whatever feeling content she now had.

"Wil?" He whispered into her hair. She made a noise to show she was able to reply, so he continued. "Who did this to you?" He held his breath.

_Parker! _She screamed in her head. But she remembered what he had said. She couldn't let Oz get hurt.

"I-" She began. She didn't want to lie, but if lying was what it meant to keep him out of harm's way, she would. "I- I don't know." She put her head down, fighting back tears. Oz knew he had to accept this. But he couldn't accept that this guy was still out there. If Willow didn't know, then he would have to find out.

"Are you okay?" He whispered even softer. She sucked in a sobbing breath and nodded.

He knew she was lying, but for the rest of the night, he felt better knowing that she was with him and would never have to go through anything like that again.


	6. Smiled and Walked Away

Oz had to return to school. Though now he only regularly attended two of his classes a day. They hadn't been told how long Willow would need to be kept in the hospital. The doctor said at the most, a week.

Oz kind of lived at the hospital now. He refused to leave until Willow was out of the hospital. Every night, against the nurse's orders, he and her slept in the small hospital bed. Xander, Buffy, and Giles wanted many times to come to see Willow, but they understood completely when she said she didn't think she was ready for that many people at once.

Oz was heading to Buffy and Willow's shared dorm three days after he had found Willow in the forest. Buffy had given him the key in case Willow needed anything. At that moment, he was on his way to get her pillow, until he collided with someone else and they both fell to the ground.

A little disoriented at first, Oz used the wall to pull himself up. He noticed it was Parker who was on the ground, also trying to get up.

"Oh, I'm sorry, man." Oz reached down to help him up. Parker grabbed his hand, speaking on his way up.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." He exhaled as he brushed himself off. "So, uh," he began, obviously trying to make awkward conversation, "how's Buffy?"

"She's been better." Oz said simply. Parker already wasn't on good terms with anybody associated with Buffy.

"Oh, well I told her I was sorry, what more does she want?" As Parker spoke, Oz couldn't help but notice a hint of gloating in his eyes, but he didn't know why.

"Well it's more because Willow's in the hospital." Oz tried to brush off the odd sense of being uncomfortable in his presence. Parker's reaction seemed almost rehearsed.

"Really?" His face showed exaggerated disbelief. "What happened?"

Oz didn't trust Parker in any way. "She fell down the stairs. Got banged up pretty bad." He lied as Parker's expression showed hints of smirks.

"Well, is there any way I could come visit her?" He asked, now almost smiling.

"Why?" Oz's expression was now more showing concentration. Parker didn't care about Willow, and Oz knew that, so why did he suddenly feel enough compassion to come see her?

"I just want to apologize. I feel I owe her one as much as I did Buffy." Parker explained, the tone of his voice was painfully serious.

"Well I'm not sure of how ready she is for visitors, but I could mention it to her." Oz wanted to walk away. Talking about Willow with another guy under the circumstances, and especially now that Parker was sending off disturbingly suspicious signals.

"Well thanks. Just let me know when she's ready." Parker winked, smiled, and walked away.


	7. Parker Did This to Me

Willow didn't smile. She hadn't since she had been brought here. Oz questioned whether or not she would ever smile again. She spent most of her time staring at the wall next to her. Or asking Oz how Xander and Buffy were. He never mentioned how worried they were, or how upset they had been. He normally just simply said "They're just waiting for you to come back."

Oz knocked before he entered her room. Willow was being interrogated by police.

"Hey," one policeman said, staring at Oz, "this is private business young man. Out!" he yelled. Oz looked at Willow, who had been sharing Oz's gaze. Oz nodded, silently promising Willow with his eyes that he'd be back in a minute.

As soon as Oz began to close the door, the men resumed asking their questions. All he heard though was "You don't remember _anything_ about him?"

He wished he could stop them. This wasn't fair to Willow. She wasn't ready to answer these questions, and the officers were being completely inconsiderate. But Oz waited patiently. He absently smelled Willow's pillow every now and then, taking in the happy scent of what used to be. Willow remembered the happiness. Buffy remembered. Xander and Giles remembered. And Oz remembered.

Parker however, did not care about the happiness they all once shared. He knew it was there, though. He was proud of himself. He stepped up and got what he wanted and ruined the lives of more people in one go. Oz was unaware of this though.

It took a half hour for the police to finally leave. They motioned Oz back in.

"Hey, I've got-" Oz stopped. Willow was in tears again. Memories he guessed. Guessing was all he could do. She had been asked enough. The best he could for the time being is try to comfort her.

He rocked her for a little bit. He figured he might as well tell her now, just to make conversation. Take her mind off things. Or try to at least.

"Wil, I ran into someone today." He whispered, his voice shaking a bit. She didn't reply, she just kept on crying. "I literally ran into Parker today." She gasped. Sucked in the confessional breath. She stopped crying at that exact moment. She began to shake instead. This frightened Oz.

"Wil? Willow?" He shook her gently, trying to get a reaction out of her. "Wil, what's wrong?" He could feel her tears continue to soak through his shirt. She still didn't move, she barely breathed. She knew. She knew she had to tell him now.

"Oz-" She continued to breathe through short gasps. Oz was relieved, almost thrilled to hear her voice again. "Oz-" She searched for the words. She figured she may as well just come out and do it. Saying his name, though, would burn her. "…He did it." She swallowed hard. She couldn't stop thinking about what might happen to Oz if Parker ever found out.

"What?" Oz asked, the pure unawareness in his voice hurt her more. She now knew she had to say _his_ name.

"Parker did this to me."


	8. Opened the Door and Walked In

Anger took over Oz in a way it never had before. This sensation creeping up through his body. He wanted to explode. He apologized to this bastard earlier for just knocking him down, and he did this to Willow. Oz stood up immediately and headed for the door. He stopped when Willow screamed.

"No!" She yelled through her restricted throat. Why would she scream 'no' to having this monster locked away forever?

Oz had one hand on the door handle. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned fiercely. The quick anger movement made Willow flinch.

He looked directly in her eyes. "Why?" he asked sharply. Willow closed her eyes, unknowingly squeezing more tears out. Oz waited for an answer.

She sniffled a bit. "Because after he was…done, he told me that if I told anyone it was him, he'd kill you." Willow looked as if she was going to collapse. Oz shut his eyes. Typical Willow. Selfless in every way. The man who did this terrible thing to her was in Oz's grasp, but she was too worried for Oz.

He looked at her again. Her eyes pled softly to him. _"Don't go" _he heard them whisper. He wanted so badly to do what she wanted him to do. But he couldn't. Willow understood that. Oz needed to rid himself of this terrible feeling, but what she didn't understand was why he had to put himself in danger to do it.

Silence yet again. This entire week had been full of either screaming or silence. They stayed like that for a while, Willow's tears still streamed down with no sign of stopping, but she made no noise.

Finally, Willow spoke. "What are you going to do?" She asked quietly, staring at the ground.

"I have to go to the police, Wil." _And kick Parker's ass._ He didn't speak the last part out loud.

"He's gonna-" (sniff) "-hurt you." Willow continued to stare at the ground. It was then when a nurse walked in.

"What happened?" A team of doctor's trailed behind the nurse. "I heard a scream." Oz slipped out to make it easier on Willow. She put up a fight, screaming for Oz again. She kicked and thrashed before a doctor stepped in and gave her a mild sedative to hold her for about an hour.

Oz walked out the hospital doors with determination. Determination to find Parker and to make him pay. Determination to put aside for the pain he had just put Willow through.

What Oz didn't know at that point as he climbed into the van was that Parker wasn't anyway near the school, though he _was _near him. Parker was at the hospital.

Oz pulled out of his parking spot just as Parker walked through the hospital doors. He went, carrying balloons, to the nurse's desk.

"Uhm, do you think you could help me?" He asked the nurse quietly. She glanced up briefly.

"Sure, hon, whatcha need?" She continued to stare at a file. Fiddling with her nails here and there.

"I'm looking for the room that Willow Rosenberg is now in." The nurse looked up as Parker shook the helium balloons as a way to show her what he was there for.

She sighed and began typing at her computer.

"Room 99 on the third floor." Parker thanked her and headed for the elevator. He stood by himself and plotted what he was going to do, getting more excited as the elevator rose on floor at a time.

He searched for the 99th room. At the end of the longest hallway, there stood a door with the number he was looking for. He felt almost as if the whole thing was too easy, but he simply smiled and walked to the end of the hallway.

He reached it. He began to think of how much fun this was going to be as he opened the door and walked in.


	9. Heavily Opened

Willow lay innocently sleeping. Not even dreaming. It was some what of a mechanical sleep that the doctors programmed into her. Parker sat at the chair at the end of the bed, the same place Oz had once sat.

Oz pulled up to the Stevenson building where Buffy's dorm light was on still. He climbed out of the car, still trying to figure out what to tell her.

Oz knew that this would _just_ kill Buffy. This was the same man that took advantage of her, and now he'd extended himself to her friends. Buffy tried her hardest to keep everyone safe, especially those she loved. Oz knew that Buffy would blame herself for this.

He still couldn't find the words as he turned the key and opened the door to the dorm room.

Buffy automatically stood up, obviously startled by Oz's entrance.

"Oh," She breathed out, "Oz, it's just you." She exhaled again and dropped back onto her bed, now full of papers and notebooks.

"Yeah, Buffy we need to talk." He didn't sit, he just stayed near the door, standing almost awkwardly. He kept his hands in his pockets in fear of showing his nervousness by fidgeting or anything of the sort.

Buffy sensed his anxiety. She slowly stood back up. "Something's wrong…" She implied quietly, though her eyes stared intently into his.

"Parker did it." Oz looked down at the ground. Buffy tried to channel this. She knew what he meant, but she refused to let herself believe this. They stood in silence again. It would have been a thoughtful sort of silence if it hadn't been for the fact that Oz wouldn't allow his thoughts to drift to Parker and that Buffy was doing enough thinking for the both of them.

"Where is he?" Buffy's voice drew Oz back into attention. "Where is Parker?" Everyone seemed to say his name with a putrid thickness, but it was with good reason.

"I don't know, that's why I came here." Oz replied, just barely working up the courage to look in her eyes.

"We have to find him." Buffy grabbed a jacket and headed out the door with Oz close behind her. The same thought was on both of their minds as they walked as quickly and fiercely as they could through the hallway: _Kick Parker's ass._

Parker was still at the foot of Willow's hospital bed. She had finally showed signs of stirring, like she might wake soon. Parker felt his sick excitement grow as her eyes slowly, and heavily opened.


	10. The Door Behind Him

It took seconds before she realized this wasn't a nightmare. Parker Abrams, the man who raped her days before, was in her hospital room….. and she also noted that Oz wasn't there either.

Out of instinct, Willow reached for the nurse button. Parker jumped up immediately, holding her mouth the same way he had done before as a bored sounding nurse spoke through an intercom on the bed.

"What do you need?" She asked in a monotone voice.

"Nothing." Parker convincingly lied, "She just bumped the button. She still asleep."

"Whatever." The nurse barely muttered as the sound went dead. Parker slowly looked back at Willow and released her mouth. She dare not move.

"Well this was surprisingly easy." He smirked a bit causing her to flinch.

"So," He continued, getting up, trusting that he frightened Willow enough that she would not reach for the button again, "I'm in the mood for some fun." His eyes scanned the room, landing on a phone in the corner. He walked over to it. "Tell me something, what's the number to Oz's dorm room?"

Oz and Buffy were searching for Parker. They had asked several people (Buffy tried hard to ignore it when a couple girls giggled at the sound of his name) and checked his dorm. He wasn't anywhere.

Neither of them mentioned the police. They both wanted revenge. Of course, they would call the police after they were done with whatever it was they planned to do to him.

Finally, after two hours of searching, they reluctantly called it a night.

"I need to get back to Willow." Oz said to Buffy on the way back to her dorm. She nodded and mumbled something about work to do.

They said their goodbyes and Oz started off to his van, still fuming a bit. Though while he was here, he may as well change his clothes, he thought to himself. He changed his course and headed to his dorm.

He smelled of a clean shirt and jeans from off the floor. He kind of grinned at the irony in his clothes. The red blinking light on his message machine caught his attention as he was about to leave. ~01~ It blinked repeatedly. He pressed the button to play this, hoping whatever it was, it was short. He needed to get back to the hospital.

There was static first, and then the voice came:

_"Oz? Hello and greetings from Sunnydale hospital. This is Parker Abrams and Willow Rosenberg. For whatever reason, you left and aren't in your room right now, but that's okay. So Willow fell down the stairs, huh? Hmm, well it looks to me as if she was raped. You should report that right away." _He laughed for a moment. Oz could hear Willow quietly sobbing in the background. _"Yes, well, we are just having loads of fun here aren't we Willow?" _The phone was obviously directed at Willow because her cries seemed louder now. _"Thank God hospitals still have locks on their doors, or a doctor might come in and see this. Anyway, we are having too much fun to not share it with someone. I mean it's just me, Willow, and my knife. Now there's plenty of blade to go around for everyone. Isn't that right, Wil?" _No reply, just sobbing. _"Dammit, Willow, say something." _Oz could faintly hear a tearing sound, followed by Willow's muffled scream. _"Well there goes the cleanliness of _that _knife. Oh well. Let the cutting begin. Oh, and one more thing," _Parker snickered a bit, _"you've been with Willow for a while, do you think I'll get laid tonight if I play my cards right?" _Parker laughed even harder. The line went dead.

Oz shook with anger and ran out of his room, not even closing the door behind him.


	11. He Was Smiling

Oz threw the door open, bursting in right as Parker was about to cut into Willow's stomach again. Oz saw the marks where he had run his knife across her stomach and sides. He assumed the slashes were also on her back. Parker looked up and grinned. Willow looked miserably at Oz.

Oz turned his head sharply. "Get away from her. _Now._" Parker smirked and let Willow loose. She ran and grabbed onto Oz. He held her as tightly as she needed him to, but he kept his eyes on Parker. He could just barely feel Willow's blood seep through her shirt and onto his.

Oz gently brought Willow to the bed, but still being sure to put himself between her and the still smiling Parker. Oz stared at him with hate and anger.

Parker put his hands in the air. "Hey, man," He said with a smile, "I've done nothing wrong." Oz silently gestured to the blood clearly seen through Willow's shirt now. "Oh, well," Parker rolled his eyes, "So maybe I scratched her here and there. She's fine."

"Don't lie now." Oz's voice sounded threateningly serious. "You know what you did." Oz's icy sharp stare stayed directed at Parker, whose expression had gone from joking to the same hate and resentment Oz now felt.

"Let's take this party outside." The smirk was on Parker's voice, but it never showed through his face.

Oz turned to Willow for a moment to share the final moment with her before he killed Parker. She sobbed as Parker walked past muttering something about the forest. Oz kept his eyes on Willow's.

"Stay here." His voice shook as he wished so badly to hold her. "I'll be right back. I promise." She cried harder. He kissed her forehead and swiftly stood up band left. It was the second time that night that Willow had to watch Oz leave her.

Oz ignored the questions that nurses asked as he walked passed them as quickly as he could. _("Sir, you can't just leave." "You are here for Ms. Rosenberg." "You've agreed to stay during treatments." "Where are you going so fast?" "Sir!")_

Parker was already in the woods. As Oz walked in passed the first few trees, he could already faintly smell that scent that drew him to her that day. He briefly thought about what had happened as he searched for Parker.

_Willow wasn't in her dorm. Buffy hadn't seen her for a while either. Oz wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. At that moment, he was more of just curious. Asking himself things like 'Why hadn't she called anyone if she was leaving?' He tried to brush away these feelings as he climbed into his van, deciding Giles had probably heard from her. _

_ With one last glance out the window, seeing if maybe she would be coming to stop him, saying that she was just at the library (Where he'd checked three times already), he pulled away and headed to Giles._

_ He had gotten halfway, taking a different route to clear his head, when this smell struck him. It was so strong, he slammed on the brakes. He knew the sweetly putrid smell, it was fear. He breathed it in against his will and felt the need to collapse. He opened the van door and almost fell out, but he ended up on his feet, face to face with the forest._

He took a deep breath, refusing to remember any further. Not now anyway. He was busy. Parker was in sight now.

Oz felt a new determination, and walked toward him. Though Parker's back was to him, he knew somehow that he was smiling.


	12. A Werewolf in Love

Face to face again. They stared each other. It felt something like a silent battle between good and evil. Oz stood to protect the one he loved, while Parker stood to hurt her. Exact opposites, looking through each other. Oz saw straight through this twisted man's mind. Parker pretended to see through Oz. Oz was too strong for that though.

Parker finally smiled. "Isn't this odd?" He cocked his head and crossed his arms, pulling on a fake security shield.

Oz stayed rigidly still while answering, "We may have two different ideas on how this particular situation is odd."

With that, Parker threw back his head and laughed, stretching the skin on his neck so that Oz could distinctly see particular (and potentially deadly) veins poking out, in which he felt so tempted to lunge forward and cut him right then. Parker's chin, again, rested upon the air right before his neck, ending Oz's fantasy.

"Well," Parker went on casually, "I find it odd because me and you have both had sex with Willow, and you seem to hate me." He continued to smile as Oz's once perfectly still figure seemed to twitch a bit in the darkness. Oz said nothing in reply.

Parker sighed and clapped his hands, "Well," he rubbed them together a bit, "I suppose you _are_ rather angry. So, let's get on with the party shall we?" Oz let his arms fall to his sides, before balling his hands into quivering fists. Parker braced himself by pulling out his knife.

Parker took a step. "Let's party." With that, he lunged at Oz with the knife, although he neatly dodged thrust. Oz threw his fist at Parker, feeling a bit of a sting when it made contact with his jaw. Parker stumbled back for only a moment before again shooting his arm out, knife in hand. Oz had not been so neat this time. The knife sliced into his forearm. Not deep enough to make him fall to the ground, but enough to throw him back a bit. Parker took this chance, dropped the knife, and jumped towards Oz. Oz's legs collapsed beneath him and his face became a punching bad for Parker.

Utter defeat. It coursed along with the pain now in Oz's veins. He stopped wincing after the seventh blow to his face. He closed his eyes, slowly and silently apologizing to Willow for failing her.

_"I'm going to ask you to go out with me tomorrow night. And I'm kind of nervous about it, actually. It's interesting."_

_"Oh." This had obviously surprised Willow. "Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes." Both their hearts pounded at her reply._

_"Yeah," Oz began again, "it helps. It- it creates a comfort zone. Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night? His eyes lit up._

_Suddenly she smacked her forehead. "Oh! I can't!" Oz felt his heart stop, but refused to show it._

_"Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable."_

Another memory flashed in his mind

_"Do you guys steal weapons from the Army a lot?"_

_"Well," Willow began, "we don't have cable so we have to make our own fun."_

Another memory

_"You mean…. you'd still…"_

_"Well," Willow began, reassuringly, "I like you. You're nice, and you're funny, and you don't smoke. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but that's not _all _the time. I mean, three days out of the month, _I'm _not much fun to be around either." She smiles a bit, and Oz joins her._

_"You are quite the human." He said to her with as much sincerity in his voice as possible._

_"So," her voice shook with the same nervousness that he'd fell in love with, "I'd still, if you'd still." She bit her lip._

_Oz was delighted by this news. "I'd still. I'd very still!" His heart leapt as she grinned._

_"Okay. No biting though." She smiled even wider. Oz kept his laughter to himself, but still smiled in return._

_"Agreed." He watched her walk away. When she stopped and turned around, part of him became nervous. Had she changed her mind? What would he do if she decided that-_

_She stopped his thoughts by firmly, yet with little confidence, pressing her lips to his. This took him by surprised, though he did not protest. After a moment, Willow pulled away afraid that what little confidence she had would falter and make her look stupid. She walked off with a smile on her face and a shade of red on her cheeks, leaving Oz to stare in a daze at the wind._

_He smirked and murmured to himself, "Huh. A werewolf in love."_


End file.
